Best. Day. Ever.

One day we will have a place in Florence, and perhaps a little Fiat in storage for traveling around.

The first time in Italy I was perfectly content doing all the expected things – visit the Colosseum, eat all the gelato, ride in a vintage Fiat. The Colosseum was amazing (big thumbs up for the Underground Tour we did), of course we sampled all the gelato (the husband still gives the crown to SoSa in Venice), and I experienced quite possibly one of the best days of my life on a vintage Fiat tour through Tuscany.

I gave a recap of my all time favorite things to do in Florence here from our first trip, and only a snippet of the Fiat tour. While this will be a glowing recommendation for why zipping around in a Fiat made my heart as happy as it did, I will add a few other things below that made our last trip exceptional.

I honestly don’t know how it all came to be, my yearning to bop around Italy in a Fiat (I mean, let’s be honest, it was probably some fabulous Pinterest post ages ago that stuck in my mind), but I knew on that first trip that I wanted to check that box off my bucket list. And we did.

Naturally, I did all the research and am so grateful to have found WalkAbout Tours – as we not only booked our Fiat Tour with them, but we also booked the most incredible full-day hiking tour of Cinque Terre, which I also rave about. Side note: I often talk about how I am not a hiker, but the two best hikes of my life that I would do over and over again are from Italy.

The day started with an easy walk over to the WalkAbout Tours office, where we were so lucky to be able to pick out which Fiat we wanted to drive! And when I say drive, I mean it – we did the driving!! And yes, it is manual and although it had been a minute since I had driven stick shift, it made it that much more exhilarating to get behind the wheel.

We chose a Kelly green Fiat that had a little soft cloth sun roof, and I was about as giddy as a six year old at Disney for the first time when it was time to hit the road. The hubs took the wheel first since we would be driving through Florence to get on our way, but we made stops along the way to hear from our guide about the region (you guys, we learned about the olive harvest and the process to make olive oil, and let’s just say we are not paying enough!).

The group was small, and we had a few Vespas in the mix, which made it really fun, to be honest! I finally got behind the wheel, and yes, I was a little nervous, but the windows were down, the weather was perfect, the moment was other worldly. Driving through the outskirts of Florence on tiny little streets, through darling little towns was the most Italy moment we had experienced yet. We continued on our journey and wandered through the most green hills with towering cypress trees, ending up at a villa that would take your breath away.

Waiting for us was the feast of feasts, and yes, of course wine, but just enough to complement the flavors before us – piling bruscetta, meat and cheese, and pasta for days. It was so fun to hear how other drivers were enjoying the experience, and comparing the Fiat to the Vespa aspect of the tour. While we knew the day would not last forever, I would have been happy to turn around and do it all over again the next day.

When it comes to planning things to do in Florence, whether it is your first trip, or you are a regular, I cannot recommend this tour more!

Newly discovered things to do in Florence

Yes, we revisited a few of our favorites (I’Tuscani 2 and All’anitco Vinaio, of course), but one of the best last minute decisions of this last trip to Florence was a day trip to Bologna. We arrived in what might be one of the coolest train stations and ventured out with no agenda – other than getting pasta Bolognese!

A last minute search led us to Osteria dell’Orsa for what could easily be descried as one of the top 10 meals of my life. We were with my niece, who happened to be studying in Florence at the time, and the three of us ordered the four specials: pasta Bolognese, pesto ravioli, tortellini en brudo and Bolognese lasagna. This might even be last meal worthy, folks.

My niece and I also made a reservation for a girls lunch at Gucci Osteria, and I was floored to discover it was a partnership between Gucci and famed chef extraordinaire Massimo Batturo. I opted for the special tortellini in cream sauce (aka a slowly melted parmesan sauce that dreams are made of) and tried a St. Germaine Spritz, and it did not disappoint.

We also did a food tour (hmm, sensing a theme) that took us through neighborhoods we had not been to before, and to the Mercato di Sant’ Ambrogio, where we sampled amazing produce and cheeses, and grabbed a spot outside with one of the vendors for an impromptu meat and cheese board feast.

It was yet another amazing trip in Florence, and I am leaving so much out! We are looking to head back next year, but more on that later.